International education activities

Short courses and continuing education are aimed at professionals already working in the field who want to develop and update their skills according to changing competency requirements. The trainings can be implemented entirely as online studies or combined with short contact teaching periods either in the participants’ home country or in Finland. In addition, we offer short courses conducted entirely in Finland. A course certificate is awarded for all trainings.

We organize training courses lasting a few days, which are carried out as summer and winter schools during the holiday periods of foreign participants, either in Finland or in the participants’ home countries.

The course contents are based on Laurea’s degrees and the development of higher education. Themes include, among others, the social sector (particularly early childhood education), education systems, Laurea’s Learning by Developing pedagogical model and service design. Participants are granted a course certificate for completed studies.

Laurea implements joint programmes (Joint Programmes) in cooperation with foreign universities. In the joint programmes, students complete about 35 ECTS credits of Laurea studies as part of their own foreign degree. The studies are implemented as blended learning during the students’ three-year college studies.

Students graduate from their own university and receive a course certificate and a transcript of records from Laurea. If a student later applies to study in a suitable degree programme at Laurea and is admitted, the studies completed in the joint programme can be recognised as part of a Laurea degree.

Joint programmes are currently implemented in China at Cangzhou Preschool Teacher’s College, Laiwu Vocational and Technical College and Handan Preschool Teacher’s College. The contents of the studies relate to the social sector (particularly early childhood education), nursing, physiotherapy and elderly care.

In double degrees (Double Degree) a student completes both a Finnish and a foreign higher education degree. The education is based on close cooperation between two higher education institutions, where curricula are mutually recognised and the contents of the degrees correspond to each other. The studies are implemented as blended learning during the students’ 4–5 year studies.

Double degrees are currently mainly implemented in China in cooperation with Shanghai University of Medicine and Health Sciences (SUMHS). The available double degrees are in physiotherapy and a bachelor of business administration (information systems).